Januarv 1 1, 1894. 1 



NA TURE 



26' 



SCIENTIFIC SERIALS. 

 American Meteorological Journal, December.— The winds 

 of the Indian Ocean, by W. M. Davis. The facts for this dis- 

 cussion are drawn from the " Atlas of the Indian Ocean," pub- 

 lished by the Deutsche Seewarte, and the author reproduces two 

 charts (l) for January and February, when the heat equator and 

 the belt of low barometric pres-ure have advanced to aliout 

 latitude 10^ south in the middle of the Indian Ocean, and (2) for 

 July and August, showing the position of the high pressure belt 

 about 5" more northward than before, in consequence of the 

 increased velocity of the circumpolar whirl. The most striking 

 feature of this second chart is the extension of the south-east 

 trade wind across the equator, as the south-west or summer 

 monsoon. The author clearly points out the sufficiency of the 

 rotation of the earth to influence the course of the winds, and 

 explains the causes of the monsoons. He shows that it is not 

 only true that continents are unessential to their development, 

 but that they may even destroy their normal conditions. — South 

 American meteorology, by W. H. Pickering. This paper 

 chiefly deals with the climate of Arequipa, Peru ; altitude 8,060 

 feet. The temperature seldom falls below 40° or rises above 

 75^ The winds blow with great regularity, except in the rainy 

 season, a sea-breeze prevailing during the day, and a land- 

 breeze for some hours before sunrise. The mean annual rainfall 

 dues not exceed four inches, while on the sea-coast rain is a great 

 rarity ; the rainy season occupies the first three months of the 

 year ; rain in the morning is practically unknown. (This and 

 the previous paper were read before the New England Meteoro- 

 logical Society on October 21 last). — A South American 

 Tornado, by W. G. Davis. This tornado occurred on Novem- 

 ber 13, 1891, and devastated the village of Arroyo Seco, near 

 Rosario. An illustration, taken from a photograph, shows a 

 number of heavily laden railway carriages which were upset or 

 carried to a distance by the violence of the wind. The cause 

 appears to have been the diffisrences of temperature and humidity 

 in adjacent strata of the atmosphere. —Errors of the psychro- 

 meter, by H. A. Hazen. This is a summary of a paper recently 

 read by Mr. W. W. Midgley before the Royal Meteorological 

 Society. The important poinf is that Prof. Hazen entirely 

 confirms a statement made by Mr. F. Gaster at that meeting, 

 that the temperature of the dry bulb thermometer is not affected 

 by the proximity of the water cup of the wet bulb thermometer, 

 a statement which was contrary to the general opinion of the 

 meeting. We believe that a further confirmation of t/iis fact 

 will be brought forward by Mr. Gaster later on, from recent 

 careful experiments. 



L'Antkropologie, Tome iv. No. 4, July-August, 1893. — 

 Mons. Maurice Delafosse contributes an interesting paper on a 

 little-known tribe of fair negroes, called the Ag?ii, who dwell 

 on the Ivory Coast between the River Tanoue on the east, and 

 the Rio San Pedro on the west. These albinos are neither so 

 tall as some of the tribes of Senegal, nor so powerfully built as 

 the natives of Dahomey. Their height varies from I '65 m. to 

 l'8o m. ; their body is well proportioned, they are quick and 

 graceful in their movements, and they have sharp, bright eyes 

 of unquestionable beauty. Their colour is in general of a 

 beautiful bronze, more often light than dark. The Agni tattoo 

 themselves, but the men are not circumcised. In the same 

 number M. Eugene Mouton describes a dioito-dorsal movement 

 peculiar to man ; and there is a paper by M. D'Acy on orna- 

 mented neolithic hammers, tomahawks, and axes. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 



London. 

 Royal Society, December 14, 1893. — "Note on some 

 Changes in the Blood of the general Circulation consequent 

 upon certain Inflammations of an acute local character," by 

 Dr. C. S. Sherrington, F.R.S. 



Linnean Society, December 21, 1893.— Prof. Stewart, 

 President, in the chair. Gen. Sir H. Collett and Mr. H. H. 

 Johnson were admitted, and Messrs. G. E. Greene and A. G. 

 Tansley were elected. — Mr. P. L. Simmonds exhibited acollec- 

 tion of New Zealand mosses found by Mr. G. W. Simmonds 

 while surveying in H.M.S. Pandora. Mr. Murray offered 

 some remarks on the nature and value of the collecii<m, 

 which the owner was understood to say would be presented to 

 the Botanical Department of the British Museum. — The Presi- 



NO. 1263, VOL. 49] 



dent exhibited and described two curious examples of associated 



ants and plants, namely, Fridoinyrrnex caudatus with Myrmecodia 

 Beccari and Ca>npo)iotiis planatus with Pctudomyrma Belli, the 

 plant being Acacia Hindsii. — Mr. J. E. Ilarting exhibited some 

 shells of Planorbis corneics, which had been founrl by the 

 river-side at Weybridge, which from some unascertained cause 

 were curiously bisected. Alluding to the piscivorous habits of 

 the water shrew, Sorex fodiens, he suggested that it might be 

 the work of this little animal. Mr. A. D. Michael thought it 

 likely to be the result of frost, the lower half of each shell 

 being preserved by being imbedded in or adherent to the frozen 

 mud. Referring to a MS. letter of Dr. Stephen Hales (the 

 author of " Vegetable Staticks," and a friend and neighbour of 

 Gilbert White), which was exhibited by Mr. G. Murray, an 

 excellent engraved portrait of him was exhibited by Mr. Hart- 

 ing, who made a few remarks upon his life and work. As this 

 portrait was not to be found amongst the 600 engravings of 

 " scientific worthies " lately presented to the library by the late 

 Lord Arthur Russell, he offered it for the acceptance of the 

 society. ^On behalf of Mr. H. X. Ridley, Director of the 

 Gardens and Forests Department, Singapore, the Secretary 

 read a paper dealing with all the Orchidds hitherto recorded 

 from Borneo. In the discussion which followed, IVIr. C. B. 

 Clarke made some remarks on the distribution of these plants 

 in the Indian and Indo-Malay regions, and on the way in which 

 a knowledge of the species had been gradually acquired and 

 extended. — On behalf of Mr. R. Spruce (whose death since 

 the reading of this paper the Society has to deplore), Mr. A. 

 Gepp read a paper on the Hepaticts collected by Mr. W. R. 

 Elliott in the islands of St. Vincent and Dominica, and took 

 occasion to describe in some detail the nature and extent of 

 Mr. Spruce's work, which he characterised as a most careful 

 and excellent contribution to botanical science. The paper was 

 accompanied by a series of minute and beautiful drawings. 



Royal Microscopical Society, December 20, 1893. — 

 Mr. A. D. Michael, President, in the chair. — Mr. E. M. Nelson 

 exhibited and described a new pattern microscope specially 

 designed for agriculturists. — Mr. Nelson also exhibited a 

 new form of metallic chimney for microscope lamps. — On be- 

 half of Mr. J. W. Lovibond, Mr. Nelson exhibited some new 

 coloured screens for use with the microscope. — Mr. J. W. Gif- 

 ford read a paper on a new monochromatic light screen, illus- 

 trating the subject by means of the lantern. — Mr. T. F. Smith 

 read a paper on the resolution of Pleurosigma angulatwn, illus- 

 trated with photomicrographs shown by the lantern. 



Paris. 



Academy of Sciences. January 2. — M. de Lacaze- 

 Duthiers in the chair. — A mechanical problem, by M. J. Bert- 

 rand. — On the equation to the derived partials occurring in the 

 theory of the propagation of electricity, by M. Eaiile Picard. 

 An application of Riemann's method to the problems con- 

 sidered by M. H. Poincare at the previous meeting. — A chemical 

 study of the nature and causes of the green colouration in 

 oysters, by MM. Ad. Chatin and A. Muntz. The authors 

 trace a connection between the percentages of iron contained 

 in the coloured parts and colourless parts of the oysters and 

 the intensity of the colouration. The branchiae contain much 

 more iron than the remainder of the body, and are most deeply 

 coloured. The proportion of iron corresponding to a deep 

 green or brown coloration is about 0'07 to o"o8 per cent, of the 

 dried brafichise. The mud of the oyster beds where colouration 

 occurs contains a large proportion of sulphide of iron. Though 

 it is insoluble in the solvents for chlorophyll and hzematosin, 

 the green colouring matter resembles those pigments in con- 

 taining a large proportion of iron. — Graphic determination of 

 position at sea, by MM. Louis Fave and Rollet de ITsle. — 

 Regulation of the compass by observations of the horizontal 

 force, by M. Caspari. — A newisomeride of cihi honine, by MM. 

 E. Jungfleisch and E. Leger. A ba^e to which the name cin- 

 ch nine 5 has been given is obtained from hydrobromocin- 

 chonine by boiling with 85 per cent, alcohol and subsequent 

 separation of unaltered base, apocinchonine, and cinchoniline. 

 It forms very l>ng prisms insoluble in water, but soluble in 

 alcohol, bc-nzene, chloroform, and acetone. It melts at l5o\ 

 For a I per cent, solution in 97 per cent, alcohol od = -1- 125'2'. 

 In aqueous solution -f2HCl, we have od = -f 176 -g", and with 

 4licl its rotation becomes aD=■fI78■2^ The ba-e and its 

 salts decompose rapidly in air with formation of brown pro- 

 ducts less alkaline than the base itself. The salts of cinchonine 



